Barrington's minimill serves New England

By John Nolan

Thursday

Apr 8, 2010 at 3:15 AM

BARRINGTON — "O, dear me, the mill runs fast, and we poor shifters canna get nae rest," goes the old song — but that was way back then. Nowadays, over at Sallie's Fen Fibers, LLC, Sally Whitlow runs her mill at a civilized speed, and if anyone wishes it ran a wee bit faster, then it is not an oppressive foreman, but perhaps a customer on the five-month waiting list, anxious to get their alpaca fiber processed and returned in the form of silky skeins of yarn.

It might surprise the average reader to learn that alpaca farms are increasingly dotting the New England landscape and that New England Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association (NEAOBA) is a lively organization, with around 150 members and an informative website, www.neaoba.org. It may also come as a surprise that New Hampshire has more alpaca farms — or an least NEAOBA members — than any other of the member states. Indeed there are half a dozen alpaca farms in northern Strafford County alone.

The NEAOBA site sings the praises of alpaca fiber as follows: "No other animal produces fiber that has the softness of cashmere, the luster of silk, the lightness of goose feathers, the durability of wool, and the warmth of a cozy fireplace." Holding a skein of Whitlow's finished product in the hand, one realizes there is not an ounce of exaggeration in these words.

"The alpaca has been domesticated (as versus its kin llama, which is primarily a work animal) and carefully bred for over 5,000 years as a luxury fiber-producing animal. Alpaca wool has been prized for centuries for its incredible combination of softness, lightness, and warmth," the NEAOBA site adds.

While there are many hundreds of fiber-producing alpacas, NEAOBA only lists three facilities in all of New England, where farmers can have their bags of fiber processed — one in Maine, one in Massachusetts, and right in Barrington, Sallie's Fen Fibers, which recently sparked an informative article by Maureen Duffy of the New Hampshire Farm Bureau Federation.

Whitlow has, for decades, been a hand-spinner of yarn, but about three years ago, had the chance to buy various Canadian-made equipment from a mill in Maine. Help from Blake and Dibbs, who had been operating their alpaca farm at Sallie's Fen since the mid-90s, made this possible, a limited liability company was formed, and Whitlow transferred her spinning skills from hand to machine.

While alpaca fiber accounts for most of the 1,400 pounds she is currently processing each year, she also does sheep's wool, mohair from Angora goats and angora from Angora rabbits.

"Sally even did her own dogs' hair," chuckled Blake, in appreciation of Whitlow's skill with, and love of, spinning fiber.

Customers, after first contacting Whitlow, bring their bagged fiber to the mill (which was once a boatbuilding shed on Swain Road), with the minimum batch being three pounds. Quite often the name of the individual alpaca that has provided the fiber is included in the bag. At this point, the fiber is weighed, and an information card made out that then accompanies the batch as it moves through the mill from machine to machine. A customer getting the wrong batch of processed fiber back, might almost be as bad as a mother being given the wrong baby in a hospital.

The fiber (not the baby) is usually tumbled first to get rid of the dust and grit, and then washed in a machine that handles six pounds per load. The wool gets two soapy cycles and three rinses, before drying on racks for the next 24 hours. Then it heads for the picker, which breaks up the locks, after which it is conditioned with oils, partly to combat static. The fiber is then placed on the drum carder to get a consistent roving. A draw frame evens out the roving and stretches it by a factor of around two and a half, although this varies with every fiber, and pulls it all into a uniform stream, ready for spinning.

Depending on the customer's requirements, the fiber is then spun into one-, two-, three- or four-ply, with this machine handling up to eight bobbins at a time. Fibres of different shades can be spun together, at this stage, giving the skeins a mottled appearance, if this is desired.

As an indication of Whitlow's skill, her mill-spun fiber from the Sallie's Fen alpaca Huacho's Sheheradze was bestowed with a blue ribbon by a fiber arts judge, scoring 98 out of 100 at a mid-Atlantic Alpaca Association show.

The cost to a customer for having their wool processed, averages between $25 and $30 per pound as measured at the outset. Having it hand-dyed to a charming color by Blake, adds a little to the cost. Three pounds of wool will yield around 2.4 pounds of yarn, according to Whitlow, as some of the inferior fiber is jettisoned in the process. The finished product though, as described by NEAOBA above, retails between $4 and $8 an ounce.

The store, also located in the mill building, is a knitter's delight, displaying skeins of wool in all hues, plys and varieties, along with knitted gloves, hats and more. Groups of visitors are welcome to take the tour of the mill and store by arrangement, and Whitlow can be contacted at 664-2916 or e-mail sallie. whitlowgmail.com. On the Web, visit www.sfalpacas.com for much more information.

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